Department of War Secretary blasted Democratic senators at a hearing on Tuesday, clashing forcefully with accusations that the United States had demonstrated a failure of leadership in its war with Iran, among other areas.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., raised skepticism with Hegseth, pressing him on whether the administration had a plan to bring the protracted war with Iran to a close.
Peters accused Hegseth of leaving the country in a worse position than when the war began.
PETE HEGSETH HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL TO DEFEND TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS 60-DAY CONGRESSIONAL DEADLINE LOOMS
“You â you dont have a strategy, you dont have a long-term plan to actually win this war. Win the war! The men and women are going to be able to do it, but they need leadership. When will you show leadership?”
Despite promises to end the conflict with Iran in under 60 days and multiple attempts to broker a peace deal, the U.S. remains in a struggle with Tehran over control of the strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Middle East that acts as a bottleneck for much of the worlds oil trade.
The U.S. first began the war in joint strikes with Israel on Feb. 28 that killed Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei.
Hegseth fired back at Peters, pointing out that Democrats had allowed hesitations about the administrations border enforcement policies to also extend to funding the government, including servicemembers.
IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B â MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD
“When will you show leadership and stand up to your fellow Democrats who wont fund the troop, who play partisan politics while you dont give us the money? You want to stand up here and talk about the troops?” Hegseth said.
“You wont show any political courage to actually fund our department because you have Trump derangement syndrome and you wont commit to anything meaningful. So, I put this on you, senator.”
As a part of his criticisms, Hegseth said he believes the hesitance Democrats have shown to the U.S. armed forces has stretched from before Trumps time in office.
“I mean the Biden administration ignored hypersonics,” Hegseth said, referring to missiles with the capability to travel faster than sound â a breakthrough China achieved in 2019.
“They just decided to pretend like that technology didnt exist and we shouldnt invest in it. There are things â I dont know what Lloyd Austin did for four years. I really dont. The amount of neglect, the amount of stale thinking and bureaucracy; it was staggering when we took over,” Hegseth said, referring to the Defense Secretary under President Joe Biden.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL LARGELY NEGOTIATED AS 84-DAY WAR NEARS POSSIBLE END
The confrontation at the hearings comes as lawmakers weigh the Department of War’s spending needs for 2027.
The administration has requested a <a href="https://foxnews.com/politics/iran-wars-price-tag-hits-80b-more-than-double-what-congress-told" tar
